Should I drop out of college to work for a promising startup?

Question

I am a sophomore at a small college and I'm really enjoying the classes I'm taking, especially the un-STEMy ones like philosophy and art history (I like my math and CS too, but that's a given). I love my friends here dearly. I'm on a sports team.But I'm faced with the decision to either continue with college and work at normal internships and campus jobs until I graduate, or drop out and work for an extremely promising startup.Most of you have probably heard of them or use their product, and they're not bullshit like Uber.I vibe with the team, I love their product, and they have the chance to be huge. I'd join as engineer #n where n is very small.What are your thoughts on the upsides of finishing college vs. joining this company?

andymoe · Accepted Answer

I&rsquo;d Would have liked to finish school. Startups rarely pay off and it&rsquo;s incredibly difficult to find the time and space to dedicate to learning something really deeply and well later in life. On the other hand there is an entire other calculus regarding the debt load you are taking on but I&rsquo;d value the upside (options etc) of the startup at 0 when doing that math.

ktpsns · Answer

Finish college. Spend your spare times on working (probably remotely) for/with that startup. Make sure they hire you as soon as you have your degree.

hos234 · Answer

Hard to say, as you haven't mentioned why they are interested in a sophomore from a small college.